Originally Posted by
chasm54
Huh? I'm a member of the non-racing population and it is not that unusual for me to spin out on a descent. And it isn't unusual at all for me to need the 34/27. In fact I had to get off and walk the other day, though admittedly my garmin claimed the gradient to be 33% at the point I gave up. It isn't just racers who climb hills.
Sure, but my comments had more of the flatlanders in mind. A huge percentage of the cycling population does not live near decent hills, and even where there are hills, only a minority of people seem to like grinding up them.
There are plenty of nonracers who climb, and a compact with a 12/27 or 11/26 is a great choice for that application because you use your top and bottom gears a lot. 33% is an insane grade and few people have access to that. Not so many regularly encounter grades half that.
Originally Posted by
Homebrew01
Ummm ... you're trying to be funny, right ?
I keep forgetting, a lot of serious talk in the 41 is so idiotic that identifying over the top comments meant in jest is not so straightforward